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Around Georgia: State considered tough on illegal immigration

Jose Serrano, in shackles, uses a phone to contact his wife and employer after being arrested by Immigration Customs Enforcement officers. JOHN SPINK/JSPINK@AJC.COM

Posted: 4:23 p.m. Tuesday, February 13, 2018

Arrests of immigrants up sharply in metro Atlanta

NPR’s Morning Edition had a story Tuesday that suggested metro Atlanta is one of the toughest places in America to be an immigrant without legal status. It suggests that arrests by federal immigration agents in the region are way up, and that local law enforcement is only too eager to help. Phil Kent, a member of the Georgia Immigration Enforcement Review Board, tells NPR he hopes that’s the case. “I would hope that Atlanta is one of the toughest,” he said.

Macon Mayor Robert Reichert is ending this 13-year run as mayor in just under two years. But that’s not stopping people from starting to line up for a chance at his job. Macon.com is reporting that two sitting politicians have filed to begin fundraising for Reichert’s job. They are Larry Schlesinger, a Macon-Bibb County commissioner, and Lester Miller, the president of Bibb County’s school board. Reichert is barred under the consolidated charter from seeking more than two consecutive elected terms as mayor.

Editorial: Take a stand on offshore drilling, Governor Deal

In an editorial headlined “Marsh Madness,” The Augusta Chronicle declares it’s time for Gov. Nathan Deal to come out against offshore drilling. Deal’s said he has some concerns about the Trump administration’s plans to allow oil exploration and drilling in federal waters, including along the Georgia coast. Other governors have clearly opposed it, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott has already received an exemption. The newspaper points out that several coastal cities are putting their opposition down on paper, as are several area lawmakers. The paper quotes Jason Buelterman, the mayor of Tybee Island, as saying: “We should, as a state, say that we don’t want this. We wish our governor would, too.”